Procedures of Preparing a Precis

 Different schpolars have suggested differnt procedures of preparing a precis, but most of the procedures are similar. We cannot find uniformity in these procedures. "There is no royal road to making a precis; It is to o much of an intellectual process. To boil down a passage in as few words as possible needs concentrated thoughts, close attention and hard thinking. Therefore, rules can only be a rough guide"

           The following are some of the rules as rough guidlines about how to write a precis:

1. Reading: First read the passage through carefully to get the general idea. Read three or four times to get all the controlling or leading thoughts.
2. Finding the title: Next, try to find out the appropriate title. It can be supplied by the key sentence or pilot sentence.
3. Re-reading: Further study is needed to ensure that you have completely understood the details of the passage.
4. Selection: Select the important details and arrange them in proper order.
5. Writing: On the basis of details prepared, write the draft of the precis.
6. Review:  Read the precis carefully and correct the mistakes, remove unimportant details and irrelevancies
7. Re-write: From the draft corrected, write the final form of the precis.